Quicken locating in Windsor to help recruit Canadians

Dave Battagello Windsor Star Published 1:24 PM EDT Oct 15, 2018 WINDSOR, Ontario — A beloved but crumbling downtown watering hole undergoing a multimillion-dollar makeover will soon be occupied by employees of Quicken Loans — the mortgage-based business that boosted Detroit’s Dan Gilbert to being one of the world’s richest entrepreneurs. Quicken will set up inside the former Fish Market and Loop building at the intersection of Chatham and Ferry streets. It is the first step into Windsor for Gilbert, who of late has touted Windsor’s advantages after leading a high-profile two-city bid to woo Amazon to open a new headquarters here. There are expected to be up to 50 employees — predominantly software and engineer gurus — who will initially occupy 9,000 square feet inside the two-story building. Quicken Loans indicated it may eventually grow the space in Windsor to include up to 150 employees. The move is designed to better attract top talent from Windsor, Toronto and tech centers in Waterloo in support of the mortgage company’s growing technology team, the company said. Quicken said it has no plans to open a mortgage business in Canada. The office space and employees located in Windsor are solely to support the company’s existing operations and avoid crossing the border each day. It’s the second Canadian foray for a Quicken-related company. In 2016, Rocket Homes, a subsidiary of the same holding company as Quicken Loans (Rock Holdings Inc.), purchased Toronto-based OpenHouse Realty — a company specializing in the development of proprietary home and real estate agent search technology…. [Read full story]